As you will understand due to the recent outbreak of a new Coronavirus, Camlab are experiencing an unusually high demand for the supply of personal protective equipment including masks. Whilst we are actively and diligently trying to fulfil the current demand for disposable respirators and surgical style masks through our wide supply chain, the manufacturers are now restricting the amount supplied to stockists.

Due to the fast moving nature of the current stock status our website may not reflect the up to the minute position and we suggest you contact us using either the online chat or call us on 01954 233110

Please refer to the links below for general information on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) where more detailed information can be found.

Wearing a medical mask can help limit the spread of some respiratory disease. However, using a mask alone is not guaranteed to stop infections and should be combined with other prevention measures including hand and respiratory hygiene and avoiding close contact – at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and other people.

WHO advises on rational use of medical masks thus avoiding unnecessary wastage of precious resources and potential mis-use of masks (see Advice on the use of masks). This means using masks only if you have respiratory symptoms (coughing or sneezing), have suspected 2019-nCoV infection with mild symptoms or are caring for someone with suspected 2019-nCoV infection. A suspected 2019-nCoV infection is linked to travel in an area in China where 2019-nCoV has been reported, or close contact with someone who has travelled from China and has respiratory symptoms.

In these unprecedented times we have to deal with more product supply restrictions, price increases and surcharges being placed on our purchase orders for goods, particularly for critical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

It is important to note that many of these products are bought in foreign currency (dollars and euros) and due to recent large movements in exchange rate this has also negatively impacted the sterling cost price resulting in selling price increases. We intend to continue to provide all our main brands at normal list prices for as long as we can at this time although it is now clear that due to shortages and high demand national governments are restricting access to PPE products and in some cases applying additional export surcharges. Main manufacturers are also being asked to prioritise front line care workers.

Unfortunately from this point on we will have to include any additional government or increased freight surcharges applied to these products. To help mitigate such increases we are setting up a PPE sourcing team to try and find alternative global manufacturers of these types of products in short supply to be able to offer our customers alternative similar products. We hope to be able to find cost effective alternatives and we are happy to work with our customers purchasing departments to try and negotiate bulk discount prices.

Although we now have to pass on increases and surcharges please be assured that we are not inflating our profits. We are doing our best to overcome shortages by sourcing products from alternative suppliers of PPE, but in some cases the prices of these products are significantly above normal due to demand and in other cases they do not meet the correct PPE regulations that could put the public or medical professionals at risk if sold improperly. We are working with Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and the British Safety Industry federation (BSIF) by reporting these suppliers/providers who we believe are wrongly exploiting the current situation.

Unfortunately we are also finding that unscrupulous suppliers are offering us counterfeit products. Camlab is a member of the BSIF and we are working closely with them to ensure the items we source and sell are properly CE EN/149 rated and tested accordingly. Please note that category III products require much stricter requirements including ongoing market surveillance. Reporting and documentation retention is considerably more onerous on manufactures, suppliers and customers for Health and Safety records, recall, notification and withdrawal purposes.

We wish all our customers well in these trying times and hope we can all return to business as normal as soon as possible

Camlab mission:

To help our Scientific and Industrial customers find and choose the best products to achieve the right results.

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Medical devices EU regulations

The European Union Medical Device Regulation repeals the existing directives on medical devices: Medical Devices Directive [93/42/EEC] and Active Implantable Medical Device Directive [90/385/EEC]. The regulation was published on 5 May 2017 and came into force on 25 May 2017